Toy Story 3, Adam Sandler comedy Just Go With It and Reese Witherspoon/Robert Pattinson romance Water for Elephants are among the first films to receive the alerts, which will advise them to keep a box of tissues handy and make ready with the call button if they need a shoulder to cry on.

According to respondents to a survey on the airline's Facebook page, 41% of men said they had buried themselves in blankets to disguise their tears from other passengers. Women were more likely to pretend they had something in their eye. Overall, a 55% said they had experienced heightened emotions while flying, with travellers from Wolverhampton the most likely to join the "mile high blub club".

Toy Story 3 was the top in-flight tearjerker movie, while Brokeback Mountain and Clint Eastwood drama Gran Torino also made the top 10.

Observer film writer Jason Solomons, who also works for Virgin, said: "On a flight we're isolated, leaving loved ones or aching to be reunited with them. We're nervous, we're tired, we might have had a drink at a time we usually wouldn't. You don't really want to land with mascara running down your cheeks or bloodshot eyes but you can't help it."